Wireless system - Lekato, Boss or something else?

[ots]

I'm thinking about buying a wireless system to replace the amp to bass cable.

I don't gig, this is for practice only. I'm happy to pay for the Boss WL-20l as I play active and passive instruments, but equally I'd be happy if one of the Lekato sets would be ok.

I'm looking at this Lekato one https://www.amazon.co.uk/LEKATO-Wireless-Charging-Transmitter-Receiver/dp/B0BTY2K36D
I'd prefer USB C over micro USB, but it's not a deal breaker.

 

[Lozz196]

As long as it’s ok with active instruments that would be fine. 

[Ed_S]

I recently bought the Lekato WS-80 set to keep in my gigbag and use for rehearsals. Been absolutely fine so far, had no problems working with my active Ibanez SRs and they last a couple of 3 hour rehearsals between charges. Because of the recessed jack socket on the SR I’ve needed to build a short extension patch, but I think that would likely be the same deal with the Boss and Line6 equivalents. Because the Lekato is very light and it hangs over the strap, it stays put without needing to have a pouch on the strap or pocket it.

[WinterMute]

The various Line 6 units are very good too, particularly the rack version.

[ots]

Thanks all, I’ll have a look at the line 6 units as well.

[Staggering on]

I have been using the Boss WL 20 for several years now at home, for rehearsals and for gigs with DB, EUB and occasionally BG. The EUB is a Yamaha SLB 200, the DB uses a Gage Lifeline and the bass is active and I have had no problems, simple to use and charge. It has been used for hundreds of hours and up to 5 hours at a time and never run out of power. I recharge it after every use except when I am practicing at home and I have accidentally left it plugged in and "on" and completely drained it and had no problem recharging and it had no effect on the unit. I am not into technology so this small simple unit is perfect for me, highly recommended.👍  

[fretmeister]

https://www.shure.com/en-GB/products/wireless-systems/glx-d_plus/glxd16p?variant=GLXD16+UK-Z4&_gl=1*191vg16*_up*MQ..&gclid=CjwKCAjw15eqBhBZEiwAbDomEiMe4TDUC7wdCrkGJrO7_iHgnhK1ltgzZgar9omwzvEviyfYrlUgVBoCZBgQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
 

This.

[police squad]

I use this Lekato 5.8 thing for my duo gigs.

I stand right next  to the receiver and it has been excellent so far.

I use it because it gets rid of one more cable.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07TWQL2JS?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

 

[NancyJohnson]

The Lekato is fine.  Easy everything really, charging, size, range and so on.  Unaffected by active/passive/shim material.

[Phil Starr]

I switched recently to the Lekato from a Line Six. Nothing wrong with the Line Six but I prefer the simpler form of the Lekato. Both sound better than a lead. I did have one gig where I was picking up some electrical noise. A private party where someone had set up some cheap led party lights next to the band. I switched to a wired connection but have had no problems using the Lekato since and can’t reproduce the fault. I could probably have switched channels if I’d had time.

[warwickhunt]

1 hour ago, police squad said:

I use this Lekato 5.8 thing for my duo gigs.

I stand right next  to the receiver and it has been excellent so far.

I use it because it gets rid of one more cable.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07TWQL2JS?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

 

 

I own the Line 6 G50 (or is it 60?) system 2.4ghz system and I have since bought the cheapo Lekato 5.8ghz as it is more reliable for not dropping out or being affected by routers etc working on 2.4. 

 

You will get an upgrade if you spend bigger money but for home use a £50 system is more than adequate. 

[tauzero]

I'm another one with the Lekato WS-50 (the 5.8GHz one) bought from AliExpress. It works well - I use it for rehearsals and open mic nights, and on gigs where I'm not using a pedalboard (the pedalboards have externally powered wirelesses on them).

 

The supplied charging lead has a forked end and two USB plugs so both bugs can be charged simultaneously from one charger.

Edited November 5, 2023 by tauzero

[binky_bass]

I have a Line6 G75. It's a great set up, never missed a beat. 

[JazzyJ]

I've used the Shure GLXD4 setup for years now without issue.

[ots]

Thanks again everyone 👍

[BassAdder60]

Shure GLXd16 +
 

Excellent quality device 

[tauzero]

10 hours ago, BassAdder60 said:

Shure GLXd16 +
 

Excellent quality device 

 

Great for the  wealthy professional gigging musician, an utterly extravagant waste of money for home practice as the OP wants.

[Franticsmurf]

+1 for the Lekato WS-80. I'm using it with an active Sterling 34HH, and active Ibanez EBS1000s and various passive basses, all without problems. I've used it for a couple of 4hr gigs (from fully charged) indoors and outside and it hasn't given up on me. I can't comment on maximum range but I've had no problems wandering about 20m or so from the receiver. 

[BassAdder60]

5 hours ago, tauzero said:

 

Great for the  wealthy professional gigging musician, an utterly extravagant waste of money for home practice as the OP wants.

Yep you’re right .. it’s more for live work than home. Lekato or Boss dongle style would definitely suffice.

A caution though as a few of us have had signal distortion from the low cost units ( not all but some even on passive basses ) this might of  just been poor component quality ? 

[MichaelDean]

I've got the Lekato WS-90. Nabbed it from AliExpress for a fair bit cheaper than Amazon. Does the job! Haven't had it flake out at all and it's been fine with active, passive and skinny stringers. It does seem to be a little bit quieter than a cable though. My GX-100 has an input level and it noticeably dips when that is connected. I just turn up the input signal a bit. 

[markbunney]

I have the Boss WL20L - its great. For live use, Ive had it drop out due to the amount of wireless things going on in our band, but for home you'll be fine.

I have recently acquired a lekato 5.8g guitar wireless set, but havent had chance to properly test it out to compare to the Boss yet.

[moley6knipe]

My first wireless was Lekato WS-70, October 2022 - I returned it because there was a noticeable difference in sound when compared to using a cable. Seemed to work ok though, form factor was good/compact. And I know no-one cares about the bass sound, especially not within a full band setting, but even so...

 

Next was the Boss WL-20 (pedal board receiver and wireless dongle). Brilliant piece of kit, so easy and convenient to use. Good battery life, being able to charge it via the receiver between sets was ace. What's NOT listed in the manual is: if the battery level drops really low, it won't recharge via the receiver (I was supplying it the required 320mA) - in this case, it needs a charge via the micro-USB. Guitarist in one of my bands also used a WL20 and we found that plugging them in to do the frequency pairing thing was mandatory with two in use... failure to do so meant bass through guitar amp and vice versa!

 

Sadly for me I kept knocking it out of the jack socket so have since moved on to a Boss WL-60. Less convenient in use (especially at home, compared to the WL20) but has fixed my issues. I got the excellent @Chienmortbb to make me a couple of "just the right length" skinny right-angle to right-angle cables to use with it, and the pack sits on my strap nicely. I don't know how it'll be with battery life (only gigged it once) but I keep a pack of AAs in my gig bag, and the base unit tells me battery level. The scan function is simple enough, but again not as simple as the WL-20.

 

Yet to see how it co-exists with Timbo’s WL-20 but it plays nicely with the Lekato the guitarist in the other band uses.

 

For both units, the cabled bypass option is a great feature. I'll never use the "cable tone drop simulation" function but I guess some folks would find that useful.

 

@ots - if you're interested in a keen price on a WL-20 then drop me a PM!

Edited November 7, 2023 by moley6knipe

[Muzz]

Not the guitar system per se, but a thumbs up for the Lekato 5.8Ghz stuff: I use a Tx/Rx MW1 pair for my inears (with a small headphone amp), and they're great: no dropouts, good range, etc...

[oldslapper]

Me and guitarist use smoothound kit. Works well for us. 

[binky_bass]

G75 on eBay for £99... that's a bit of a steal IMO. 

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/155874481397?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=Szg9cMcWSOW&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=mojaVkKDRiC&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY